May 2, 2008

I suppose for some it is an adventure while for others it is a nightmare. Well, in this particular moving case, I would have to opt for the later. It is tricky trying to pack when you have little kids. I found that I had a difficult time doing it because I would always tell myself that as soon as I packed it away, I would need it for the kids! So, by the time help had arrived to haul all our stuff down the stairs and into the trailer, I was not very prepared. Plus, all the kid stuff you have like: walkers, bouncers, boosters, potty seats, odd-shaped-toys, swings, outgrown car seats, etc, prove to be very awkward to pack and inevitably that just get left to the side then thrown on top of everything else until you look like you have a big heap of junk in your trailer.Well, once we FINALLY got the apartment cleaned after graduation, I thought things would be smooth sailing from there. Little did I know that all the things that could go wrong were just about to start.Luke’s parents had brought down a big horse trailer that belongs to one of Luke’s brothers and they were going to drive it part way then leave it at a relatives house so they could meet up with other family members for a trip out of town. From there, Luke would drive the trailer up while I drove the truck with the three kids. Well, the fun starts on that first leg of the trip to pick up the trailer. Savannah use to get car sick ALL the time, and when I say that, I mean we couldn’t go anywhere without her throwing up. Although she hadn’t done it for a while, I didn’t think much of it when I luckily caught the first big one in a plastic sack we had in the truck. (that is one definite plus to her being able to talk, at least I got a warning). Well, she fell asleep in the truck, so I thought it was over. We did the whole car swap thing so now I am alone in the truck following Luke. Savannah wakes up and says, “Mom, I need to throw up again”. Well, since I was driving I obviously wasn’t able to catch it and she made quite the mess. I had to pull into the next lane and speed up next to Luke then make strange hand and face signals trying to tell him to pull over because Savannah had thrown up again and I needed to clean her up. I guess it was a good thing it was a only a two lane highway or someone driving by me would have thought I was having a seizure or something by the way I was demonstrating to Luke the reason we needed to pull over.Once we finally got that cleaned up, it wasn’t too long after that the whole scene was repeated again. At this time I knew it was something more than car sickness. By the time we actually arrived at our destination she have heaved six times, not very fun. But, oh, the joy does not end there! About half an hour out from Idaho Falls, I hear Joseph proclaim, “poopy!” I glance back and see that Joseph and decided to check his own diaper, perhaps to see how serious the situation was, and proceeded to show me brown mush covered fingers. Ya, try cleaning that while driving on the freeway! Jacob too had soaked through his diaper so all three were in desperate need of baths. Luckily, one of Luke’s friends who lives here, and actually works at the same company as Luke, told us to come stay the night at his house. So, we did, got the kids cleaned up and put to bed and I thought, surely things would be smooth sailing from here on out.... oh, keep reading.The next morning we drove down to our new apartment and realize that we are basically living in, well, to put this nicely, not exactly the greatest part of town. But, despite the outside and the immediate surrounding area, the inside looks very nice! So, we start moving our stuff in then a few single neighbors who had friends over, jumped in to help us move our stuff in. Besides having a few things dropped and damaged, things went really fast and I thought, oh, maybe this won’t be so bad after all!Just in case you got lost, it is now Saturday morning.The apartment was pretty cold and the thermostat read 47 degrees. We called the gas company and they sad they don’t work weekends unless it is an emergency and freezing children don’t count (yes, I tried to pull that one). So, they said to call back Monday and even then chances are they wouldn’t make it until Tuesday. Well, I was not happy at all. I had been looking forward to a nice hot shower now those dreams had been dashed to pieces. So, we bundled the kids up in extra layers of pajamas and put them to bed. Sunday morning, I was ready for a shower but there was no way I was going to take a mind-numbingly cold shower. So, I resorted back to an old stone-age technique... boiling water. Yup, it’s true, I spend all morning warming water on the stove then filled up the bath tub with it. At one point I even spilled some of the water onto my bare leg, um can I just say, ouch! I don’t like taking baths, they sort of creep me out, but it sure felt good to be clean. Now I still had the problem of a freezing apartment. So, I turned on the oven and left the door open and I was successful in raising the temperature a few degrees. I continued to use these ancient techniques until the gas company finally arrived Tuesday afternoon to turn on our gas. Now that we had hot water, surely things would be smooth sailing from here on out!Whatever 24 hour bug had made Savannah sick seemed to have come and gone without much thought from me until the middle of the night Tuesday. Luke has a brother up in Rexburg and we had spent the evening up there and had fun so I thought things were looking up. But when I woke up that night feeling incredible nauseous my first thought was, oh no, am I pregnant? Then after I threw up I started to think it was food poisoning. But after a whole night getting to know our new toilet better than I ever wished to, I figured I must have caught whatever Savannah had had. She even came in that morning while I was withering in bed with her camera and held it up and said, "mom, say, 'I'm sick!". I then had to say it so she could pretend to take a picture. Wednesday was miserable. I continued to throw up till there was nothing left and was simply dry-heaving the rest of the day. But the aches and chills seemed worse, they were so bad my whole body hurt. Luckily, it was just a 24-hour bug so I am fine now. So, besides that fact that it snowed yesterday and the kids have been fighting and screaming the last several days because all their schedules have been thrown off and they really haven’t left the apartment all the much, things seem to be looking up! It should be smooth sailing from here on out.... right?

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super cool people speak:

If you could see my face now...It's something like I am so sorry your move was, um, eventful. But wow, the stories you have from it. At least you found something you could write a lot about! You have such patience and stamina for all of that. I knew I admired you for so many things. You just added two more. Good luck with settling in. Hope things DO go smoothly soon! I'm giving you a Cross Country team compliment with "You're a beast!" You truly are awesome, in every sense of the word.

oh, my, goodness!!! That is so sad! I wish we could've helped somehow! So many crazy things happening all at once?! You poor thing. You sure sound optimistic for going through all of that. Way to go in trying to make the best of things. You're a great mom.

Serene- I'm glad the move is over. I know how much it stinks to move. I love reading your blog. You are such a good story teller. You make everything sound so interesting. I guess that is the artist in you. I hope all is well now. Love- Kelsey

I am so sorry that you got sick on top of everything else. It sounds like your move was crazy, but at least you are now "home." I wish you luck in your new life, and I am so glad that we can stay connected a little bit in this way. Your posts always make me laugh. You are very creative and a great writer.

LOL, I just re-read what I wrote and I'm surprised it made any sense! Its nice to know people enjoy my blog entries, glad my mishaps are good for something, makes me feel loved. =) I miss you all a ton!

About Me

I'm a 34 year old chocolate eating, gospel loving, high heel wearing, imperfect mom of six cute little monsters, and wife to one great man; all of whom I love with my whole soul.
These are our many adventures together as a family.